1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to methods and pharmaceutical preparations for the alleviation of pain and/or inflammation in mammals, including humans, suffering from pain and/or inflammation.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
The prior art literature is replete with disclosures of the synthesis and therapeutic properties of a large number of organic acid compounds useful as analgesics and as anti-inflammatory agents. For example, o-acetylsalicylic (U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,731,492; 2,890,240; 3,235,583) and 2-(3'-chloro-2'-methylanilino) pyridine-3-carboxylic acids (British Pat. No. 1,147,702) are known to have an analgesic effect. [3'-(trifluoromethyl)phenyl]anthranylic (Wilkinson, Finar J. Chem. Soc. 32, 1948), N-(2',3'-xylyl)anthranylic (Belgium Pat. No. 605,302) and 2(3'-trifluoromethyl)anilino)pyridine-3-carboxylic acids (Netherland Pat. No. 6,414,717) are known to have an anti-inflammatory effect when administered to mammals. However, these anti-inflammatory and analgesic phenyl- and pyridine-3-carboxylic acids are also known to have an ulcerogenic side-effect. In hope of reducing this side-effect, different derivatives of the above-described compounds were synthesized. Thus, aminoalkyl esters of 2-anilino nicotinic acids are described in French Pat. No. 2,187,317; glyceryl esters of 2-anilino-nicotinic acids are disclosed in Swiss Pat. No. 534,130 and South African Pat. No. 6,802,185. Also, different esters of N-phenyl-anthranylic acids were prepared as were aminoalkyl esters (Belgian Pat. Nos. 612,424 and 630,053), ethyl and methyl esters (French Patent M--2948), methyl ester (Japanese Pat. No. 75 11.904) and glyceryl esters (U.S. Pat. No. 3,852,333 and South African Pat. No. 70-07385) in hopes of finding related anti-inflammatory and analgesic compounds free of the ulcerogenic side-effects. So also, various salts of phenyl and pyridine-3-carboxylic acids were synthesized and evaluated. For example, arginine, lysine, choline and aluminum salts are described in Japanese Pat. Nos. 71-29,735; 72-21,597 and 74-125,512; German Pat. Nos. 2,253,134 and 2,442,817; and Argentinian Pat. No. 197,737. However, the search for analgesic and anti-inflammatory compounds free of ulcerogenic activity has not heretofore been completely successful.
We have now found a class of compounds which have analgesic and anti-inflammatory activity without the characteristic ulcerogenic side-effects mentioned above. This side-effect (described in the literature; see Sherrer and Whitehouse, Anti-inflammatory Agents, Chemistry and Pharmacology, 13-1, Academic Press, New York 1974) has an ulcerogenic effect on the gastric epithelium. The esters of phenyl-carboxylic acids of general formula (I) infra., were tested on mammals and the test results showed an increased anti-inflammatory activity (possibly due to an enhanced gastrointestinal absorption) and non-ulcerogenic effects. It is believed that the compounds of general formula (I) are absorbed through gastrointestinal epithelium where they are hydrolyzed by enzymes in the recipient mammal's blood, to corresponding pharmacologically active acids.